Booklets / Magazines - Saddle Stitched

Saddle stitching is a form of binding in which all pages are bound in the center of the booklet from the outside in using wire staples. At CMYK Colour Online we offer an extensive range of saddle stitched magazines/booklets. We print magazines/booklets in A4, A5 and DL sizes in both landscape and portrait orientation. We also offer a large range of self cover and hard cover options.

When ordering saddle stitched magazines/booklets, it is very important that all artwork has been set correctly. To assist you in doing this we have included helpful information, diagrams and links to guideline templates on the page below:

We offer a range of self cover and hard cover options for our saddle stitched magazines/booklets.

Self Cover magazines/booklets are printed throughout on the same paper type/weight for all pages (inc cover). We offer self cover magazines/booklets printed on the following:

115gsm coated paper

150gsm coated paper

For Hard Cover magazines/booklets, the cover is printed on a heavier paper weight compared to the text pages. For example the cover may be printed on 250gsm whilst the text pages are printed on 150gsm. We offer hard cover magazines/booklets printed in the following combinations (A4 & A5 sizes only):

PP (Printed Pages)

Creep

Also known as shingling, creep describes the effect where the cumulative thickness of a saddle stitched booklet/magazine causes the edges of the inner pages to gradually protrude beyond the edges of the outer ones. The greater the number of pages, the greater the effect of creep. Creep can result in the margins of the inner pages becoming progressively smaller and smaller.

Due to creep, we require a minimum of 5mm internal and external bleed for ALL Saddle Stitched Booklets and Magazines. For further information about bleed, please refer to our Artwork Tips Page.

Diagram Illustrating Creep

How to supply artwork for booklet and magazine printing

When creating your artwork, we always recommend that our guideline templates be used. Guideline templates can be found by clicking here and navigating to the item you require. Before using our templates, please read the “read me” file first.

Artwork should be supplied as a 1-Up multiple page file (preferably a press ready PDF file) with the front cover as page one, and the back cover as the last page.

For example, a 12 page magazine should be supplied as one file with 12 pages – NOT as 12 separate files.

Please do not supply artwork as the following:

Multi-page spreads

Pages imposed 2-Up

Separate files for each individual page

Please ensure that the artwork is the correct page size. For example, if you have ordered A5 magazines, please do not supply A4 artwork.

In your artwork, the front cover should be the first page and the back cover should be the last page.

Please ensure that your artwork has the correct number of pages. For example, if you order a 24 page magazine, your supplied artwork needs to have exactly 24 pages. If your design has less than 24 pages please add blank pages to make up the 24 pages.

We offer saddle stitched magazines/booklets in three standards sizes. Please see below (click diagrams to enlarge):

A4 (210 x 297mm)

A5 (148.5 x 210mm)

DL (99 x 210mm)

We can offer all sizes bound in portrait orientation, however we can only offer A4 and A5 sizes bound in landscape orientation.

Prices for portrait saddle stitched magazines/booklets can be found by clicking here and navigating to the items you require.

Prices for landscape saddle stitched magazines/booklets can be found by clicking here and navigating to the items you require.

Booklet Notching

Due to the limitations of the saddle-stitching (booklet stitching) machine small notches on the bottom edge of the spine can occur on thicker saddle stitch books (around 48-50pp upwards). Additional risk factors include having 350gsm covers or high ink coverage. This small notch is usually not very noticeable (please see image below). If you wish to prevent this occurring we recommend selecting either matt or gloss laminating on your covers at the time of placing your order.